(IDEX Online) - Mountain Province today said 2020 revenue from its Gahcho Kue mine, in Canada, was down more than a fifth on the previous year. But it recovered well in Q4.The miner said March to September were particularly tough, as the pandemic put the market under unprecedented pressure, but the outlook for 2021 was "more positive".Mountain Province's revenue share from the mine, which it...Read More
RAPAPORT... What parameters would one use to assess a company's performance? For our analysis, sales provide the best indication of how a business is doing. Taking that a step further, revenue generated across a group of companies within a sector provides valuable insight into the market's performance.Investors in stocks consider many more factors. Expectations for the company - and for the e...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Natural diamonds are increasingly being found in parcels of lab-grown melee sent for grading. The undisclosed higher-value gems have been spotted among lab-growns on "numerous occasions" in recent months, according to the US-based lab GSI.The mix-up is probably because both types of stone are handled in the same factories, said Debbie Azar, the lab's president and co-foun...Read More
(IDEX Online) - A diamond security firm says it can now apply the smallest ever logo or characters below the surface of a diamond.They have a diameter of just a micron (0.001mm) and are visible only at 100 times magnification.UK-based Opsydia says its technology works on even the highest-clarity gem - with virtually no impact on its grade. It applies a nano-scale logo, serial number or encryp...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company will temporarily close its Mothae mine in Lesotho during a 14-day nationwide lockdown.Starting Thursday, the company will put the deposit on care and maintenance for two weeks to ensure the health and safety of its workers, it said Wednesday. The suspension will likely put Lucapa slightly behind its production plan for the first quarter, but should not affect it...Read More
RAPAPORT... The continued operation of Firestone Diamonds is in question amid an extended shutdown of its mine in Lesotho and heavy debt.The miner will keep its Liqhobong deposit closed until it can work out a deal to restructure the more than $80 million in debt it owes ABSA bank, it told Rapaport News Wednesday."We are in discussion with our debtholders to restructure our balance sheet, which is...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa's sales soared in December to their highest level in almost three years as rough demand continued to gain momentum.Diamond revenues rose 43% year on year to $521.6 million, with rough sales jumping 34% to $470.3 million - totals the Russian miner hasn't exceeded since March 2018, according to Rapaport archives. Polished sales more than quadrupled to $51.2 million from $11.6...Read More
RAPAPORT... Sales of rough at BlueRock Diamonds increased in 2020 as the miner increased production at its Kareevlei deposit in South Africa.Sales volume rose 29% to 16,290 carats for the year, BlueRock said Tuesday. In addition, the miner sold goods in December 2020, but it did not hold a sale for the same month in 2019. Meanwhile, the average price dropped 29% to $295 per carat. The miner produc...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Debswana has reportedly pulled the plug on a $1.3bn contract to extend the life of its Jwaneng mine, in Botswana, and will carry out the work itself.The company, jointly owned by De Beers and the Botswana government, terminated the deal with Australian mining contractor Thiess and a local partner, according to a Reuters news report. Debswana has given no reason for cancelling...Read More
RAPAPORT... The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) has introduced a classification report for unmodified cultured akoya, South Sea and Tahitian pearls.The GIA Cultured Pearl Classification Report includes the size, shape, color, luster, surface, nacre and matching aspects of the jewel, known as the GIA's 7 Pearl Value Factors, the institute said Tuesday. It will also feature a digital image of...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Alrosa sold $521.6m of rough and polished in December, buoyed by the record-breaking Spirit of the Rose diamond, disposal of accumulated stock and strong midstream demand.The state-owned Russian miner acknowledged today that its busiest month of the year was a one-off, and predicted sales in January would be more in line with usual expectations. December's sales were up a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - The GIA has introduced classification reports for cultured pearls.They are based on its 7 Pearl Value Factors - size, shape, color, luster, surface, nacre and matching - and include digital images. The Gemological Institute of America's new service is only available for the three major types of cultured pearls, Akoya, South Sea and Tahitian pearls.It says up t...Read More
RAPAPORT... Alrosa has received approval to sell rough diamonds to Russia's state depository, Gokhran, this year, enabling the miner to offload inventory should the market deteriorate.The company did not sell goods to Gokhran in 2020, as the industry situation improved in the second half of the year, an Alrosa spokesperson told Rapaport News this week. However, the government has given the mi...Read More
RAPAPORT... Pandora has warned it is uncertain how the escalation in Covid-19 cases will impact its 2021 sales, as more stores close. Approximately 25% of the Danish jeweler's locations are currently on lockdown, as opposed to the 10% of brick-and-mortar shops that were closed at the end of the fourth quarter, the company said Monday.The jeweler expects revenue growth for the fourth quarter t...Read More
RAPAPORT... The largest rough-trading centers face a busy January as adaptations have enabled them to continue holding sales events during the pandemic. Antwerp and Dubai will host 14 rough tenders between them this month, after 2020 proved relatively strong despite the coronavirus outbreak. Technology has allowed sellers to offer goods remotely. At the same time, rough prices at tenders were...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Chow Tai Fook sales soared in "business as usual" Mainland China, but fell in Hong Kong, which suffered a third wave of the pandemic in November and December.A rise of 26 per cent in retail sales value at its stores in mainland China was offset by a drop of 12 per cent in Hong Kong, Macua and other markets. Overall sales across all the chains 4,000 outlets was up 18 per cent.Growth...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Diamond billionaire Beny Steinmetz allegedly paid $10m in bribes to secure rights to iron ore deposits, a Swiss court heard.The deal that his his company BSGR struck with Guinea, one of Africa's poorest countries, in 2008 was described as winning the "jackpot".He paid around $160m for the exploration and mining rights, then sold half of them to Vale, the Brazilian multinationa...Read More
RAPAPORT... Erwan Rambourg is certain that luxury sales will increase in the coming decade as companies adapt to emerging trends and respond to societal forces. The industry analyst previews this new landscape in his recently released book Future Luxe: What's Ahead for the Business of Luxury - complete with "21 predictions for '21 and beyond." How has Covid-19 impacted the luxury industry?After a...Read More
(IDEX Online) - Antwerp is hosting eight tenders this month, in spite of the ongoing pandemic and a renewed tightening of restrictions in many countries. That's on a par with 2020, when it hosted a total of almost 100 at various tender houses, selling over 10.5m carats.Coronavirus hit a peak in Antwerp last November, but infections are currently at relatively low levels. The city's...Read More
RAPAPORT... Lucapa Diamond Company has sold $5.6 million worth of rough to manufacturer Safdico via a partnership the two companies formed last year.The Graff subsidiary bought 4,676 carats of diamonds from the Mothae deposit in Lesotho at Lucapa's first sale of goods from the site this year, the miner reported Monday. The sale achieved an average price of $1,198 per carat, the highest Lucapa has...Read More